Fellowships, scholarships and paying for grad school

TalentEgg Incubator. 7 September 2010.

The good thing about grad school: you take fewer courses and fewer years to complete your degree.

The bad (bad, bad) thing about grad school: your tuition per course is more than for undergrad classes, so grad school can still be just as expensive or even more so than a bachelor’s degree.

The good thing about it being more expensive (if anyone in their right mind would consider it a good thing!) is there are more ways for graduate students to pay for their education.

Scholarships, fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, as well as provincial and national awards can all help pay the bills.

Scholarships, fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, as well as provincial and national awards can all help pay the bills.

Scholarships

Graduate scholarships are similar to undergrad scholarships in that they are based primarily on academic merit and often awarded based on need. There is no one way to obtain scholarships: some require applications while others are awarded by the university or specific departments.

Research assistantships

Research assistantships are awarded to students based on academic merit and begin as soon as the student starts their studies at a school. A research assistant (RA) helps a supervising professor to complete their professional research. As a result, the money granted through an RA-ship is actually from their supervisor’s funding partner (body), and not the school itself.

Students completing an RA-ship work a certain number of hours per week, for which they are paid an hourly wage.

Teaching assistantships

All undergraduate students have encountered at least one TA during the course of their studies, and as a result have a fairly good idea of what a teaching assistantship may require. The majority of TAs lead labs or tutorials, mark student assignments, labs, tests and papers, maintain office hours and help get materials ready for classes.

There are also marking TAs who have no interaction with students and only mark the papers, assignments and tests of students. TAs are allotted a certain number of hours and get paid an hourly wage for the hours they work.

Fellowships

There are two kinds of fellowships, portable fellowships and institutional fellowships:

Portable fellowships can be used by students at any institution they choose, and are often called external fellowships, since funding normally comes from outside organizations.

Institutional fellowships, on the other hand, are granted by an academic institution for study at that school, and are sometimes restrictive to the program being studied, as well as the subject manner.

Provincial and national awards

Students thinking about applying to graduate school often don’t apply for provincial or national awards since they typically require in-depth applications that are incredibly competitive. Nevertheless, they can provide excellent sources of funding during the course of your graduate degree.

Some provinces that offer graduate programs at their university offer awards to students studying in that province, such as the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, or the Pacific Centry Graduate Scholarship.

National programs include NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR. Awards from these organizations can also granted to post-doctoral fellows and tenured faculty.

The bottom line

All of the funding options listed above are competitive in nature. Your grades, extra curricular activities, research statement, and prior work in academia may be considered when you apply for these positions and awards.

There is a good possibility that you won’t get any funding help, so if that happens, how do you plan on paying for grad school?

Commuting conundrum: School

TalentEgg Incubator. 1 September 2010.

It’s almost back to school time and many students are considering their housing options for next year: Should I live on-campus, should I live off-campus, or should I commute?

Like commuting for work, commuting to school can have a number of advantages over living close to (or on) campus. The closer you are to campus, the more expensive your housing will be, so if you would like to save some money, living further away from campus can be beneficial.

Much of this depends on exactly what your accommodations will be, and what your living arrangement will be. For example, if you are living at home, do you have to pay for rent, groceries, and utilities, or will your parents waive those fees for you?

If you are living in shared accommodations (student house or an apartment), are your expenses going to be cheaper than if you lived closer to campus? And how does the money you save factor when you add the extended amount of time it takes for you to get to campus?

Paul Aoanan, a second-year mechatronics engineering and management student at McMaster University, takes two buses and travels up to 50 minutes to get to school everyday from the other side of Hamilton, Ont.

Aoanan’s family recently immigrated to Canada, so being able to save money while going to school was very important to him. “School is expensive as it is. I can use the money that I have saved [through commuting] to pay for books and other school requirements.”

If you are thinking about commuting being the right option for you, the most important thing you need to consider is the amount of time it will take out of your day. “You need to plan ahead and to leave early to avoid being late or caught up in something. During the winter months, commuting can be really difficult: you must tread icy sidewalks and wait for the bus during a cold afternoon. You must also endure extreme weather,” says Aoanan.

As anyone who takes public transit often is well aware, when you are waiting for your bus in the rain (or a blizzard or a hailstorm), it is going to be late or it won’t show up at all. Similarly, as soon as you get on to your bus, the sun will come out. Murphy’s Law happens all the time when you commute.

Depending on the length of your trip and the amount of transfers you have sometimes you can do some reading or other homework while you travel. If you’re prone to motion sickness however, that’s probably not a good idea!

Like many students, Aoanan primarily uses his commute as a way to veg out: “Most of the time, I just listen to the music on my mp3 player and stare out the window. This is how I meditate and mentally prepare for school.”

Aoanan has four excellent tips to pass on to students who commute:

1. Don’t rush

Keep in mind that school is a long way and that there is no turning back in case you forget something. During winter, people who commute are prone to slips and falls while on their way to their respective destination. Walk slowly.

2. Dress properly

Watch your local weather forecast and decide if you will need to bring your heavy winter coat. We do no want to freeze outside, do we?

3. Plan the trip

Knowing when and where to go is a must.

4. Leave early

Take into account unforeseeable events such as missing the bus or the need to satisfy your hunger pangs by quickly grabbing a tea biscuit from a store.

These four things will help make commuting a breeze!

For more on commuting, check out Danielle’s other Commuting Conundrum article about commuting to and from work.

Commuting conundrum: Work

TalentEgg Incubator. 12 August 2010

I live in a bustling metropolis of approximately 2,700 people, with about 58,000 in my township. Needless to say, work opportunities are few and far between.

I have been working at TalentEgg this summer as an egg-tern and, to do so, I commute. And I don’t mean a quick jaunt on the subway. I mean two transit systems and a considerable amount of time in a car.

An average workday goes something like the following:

• Wake up at 6 a.m. and get ready
• Leave the house at 6:45 a.m. and drive to theGO station
• Arrive at the GO station and depart on the 7:40 a.m. train
• Get to Union Station around 8:20 a.m. and hop on the subway
• Arrive at the office around 8:40 a.m.
• Work until 5 p.m., and then do everything in reverse
• I usually get home around 7:10 p.m.

And of course, that doesn’t include things like accidents, really bad weather, GO train or TTC delays. All of which I have experienced more than once this summer.

I’ve commuted to Toronto for two different positions now (the other my high school co-op position at The Hospital for Sick Children), and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone coming from a long distance, simply because of the amount of time it takes. And it’s not the GO train or subway rides that are the issue: I can do other things while riding, like read, catch up on phone calls or emails (provided I get a seat, of course).

It’s the 30 to 40 minute drive that gets me. Nearly every day, I have some kind of encounter with a dangerous driver or someone who doesn’t know the rules of the road. And usually a rather large string of obscenities and some wild gesticulation from me follows. I seem to get people going 40 km/h in a 60 km/h zone, and I’m not able to pass them. Do you honk, or will that make the situation worse? I never know what to do.

But enough about me and my hatred of commuting (and bad drivers).

Your daily commute to and from work should always be considered when you are looking for and applying to jobs. In addition, you should also consider how much your commute will cost in comparison to your living expenses.

Some things to ponder when you are looking for a job:

• How much is rent in that city?
• How much does transit cost in that city?
• How long will your commute be inside the city?
• What are your expenses for a car (insurance, gas, maintenance, etc.)?
• How much is rent outside of the city?
• How much would transportation be to get into that city?
• How long will your commute take outside of the city?
• If you live with family or friends how much will your rent and expenses cost compared to living on your own?
• Are you planning to buy a place in a certain amount of years, or do you want to keep renting?

The longer your commute takes, the more likely you are to buy convenience foods for meals (and get fat) and be tired from not getting enough sleep.

But if you’re living with family, commuting can be a great way for you to save money to put towards a larger purchase, like a car or a house.

For me, gas costs about $35 a week , my TTC pass is $121 a month and my GO pass is $159 a month, for a grand monthly total of around $420. Because I don’t have to pay for rent or most living expenses living at my parents’ house, commuting is a much more economic option for me while I complete this internship. Trying to find a place that was closer didn’t seem to be worthwhile for only four months.

If I got a full-time job in Toronto, would I do it again? I’m not sure.

It may be something I’d consider in a shorter time frame in order to help me save up some money. But in the end I would probably look for a place that was closer, since it would allow me to do more in my evenings than have dinner and watch a little bit of TV.

TalentEgg asks:

• How far have you commuted for a summer job?
• What was your experience like?
• What advice do you have for other people who commute for work?

Beans give you the healthiest bang for your buck

November 4 2009. Launch Magazine.

There are many reasons why one may choose to adopt the vegetarian lifestyle, but vegetarians primarily focus on religious beliefs, ethical grounds and/or dietary reasons when they opt to go veg.

As for myself, I am a semi-vegetarian because eating some kinds of meat now literally makes me ill due to an intestinal infection I had several years ago.

The meat I consume now is poultry or some kind of fish, in addition to substitutes made from soy. I am a little bit of a weenie though – I don’t prepare uncooked meat because the thought of it grosses me out.

Quite often, however, people don’t recognize going vegetarian once a week (or more!) can save them quite a bit of cash. The best way to do this? Eating beans and other legumes to get the protein you need.

If you think about it from an economic standpoint, “growing” meat costs money. The animals need to be housed, fed, transported and inoculated. Depending on what those animals eat , all these processes could contribute to meat’s higher cost.

Of course, vegetable crops also need to be fed, harvested and transported, but the costs involved are much smaller than those for meat. The difference is ultimately reflected in the prices they sell for in the store or supermarket.

Looking at my local grocery store’s flyer for this week (utilizing flyers is another way to shop frugally), I found the sale price for one pound of boneless stewing beef is $3.99, one pound of boneless chicken breast is $4.99, and a pound of pork loin chops with bones is $1.49.

In comparison, a 540 gram can of beans at the regular price costs around a dollar. There are approximately 454 grams in a pound, so if you were to compare costs relatively, a pound of beans costs you 84 cents. If you buy dried beans in larger quantities (1-5 lb bags), they cost even less than beans in the can ($2-3), but they do take longer to cook.

Beans are one of the best foods you can consume in terms of nutritional value. They are low in calories, high in fibre and protein, and full of all kinds of other nutrients and vitamins. Beans are also believed to regulate blood sugar, reduce cholesterol, and prevent cancer as well as heart disease. Due to the fact that they are inexpensive and so nutritionally sound, they are a staple food item all over the world.

Of course, not everyone likes the taste of beans, but there are some easy ways to add them into your diet in smaller amounts until you get used to the flavour. Even substituting half or a quarter of the meat you eat with beans can save you quite a bit of money over the course of the year.

If you’re not sure where to start in terms of recipes with beans, there are tons for you to peruse on the internet, and for free. There are even recipes for brownies with beans in them (I haven’t had time to test those yet though)!

And to make beans even more fun to eat, there is that little rhyme we’ve all known since childhood…

How to make extra money by “moonlighting”

"How to make extra money by “moonlighting”", August 27 2009

As students, we’d all like to have a bit more money. Some of us work in the summer months and/or during the school year and this is still not always enough.

What do you do if you need a little more cash to get you through the month?

If you’ve already cut all your unnecessary expenses, it might be time to try moonlighting: taking a second (or third) job that is often paid “under the table” – meaning the employer pays you in cash and, more often than not, the income is not submitted at tax time.

Catering staff

Catering companies work primarily on evenings and weekends, which is optimal for most students. If you are involved in food prep, it’s a good way for you to get more familiar with cooking. If you’re serving, you’ll get some customer service experience. The pay is usually pretty good too.

Teaching or tutoring

High school students, as well as students in your school, may not be as proficient as you are in your studies. If you have an aptitude for certain subjects, why not tutor other students for a fee? This is a great way for you to gain some teaching experience if you are considering teacher’s college for the future. You can also edit people’s essays and papers for a fee, either a flat rate per piece or on a per word/per page basis.

Cleaning

Nobody likes to clean up after themselves and, in many cases, people will pay good money to have their homes cleaned for them. This often include cleaning houses or doing maintenance outdoors. All you need are some cleaning supplies and transportation, and you’re set.

Trials and experiments

I’m not necessarily advocating participating in drug trials, but there are several different ways you can participate in trials and earn some extra money. Many campuses pay students for participating in kinesiology and psychology studies. Marketing focus groups often pay good money for helping them get customer feedback on their products as well – sometimes $50 or $100 for a few minutes of eating chocolate bars or drinking beer. Watch out for advertisements on poster boards around campus to see what you can find.

Food Deliveries

Many restaurants will deliver to customers for a fee. As a driver, you will usually get paid an hourly wage as well as make money from tips. As long as you have a car, this is a way to make some easy cash.

Pets

Just like people don’t like cleaning up after themselves, they also don’t particularly enjoy cleaning up after their animals. Busy pet owners will pay for a “professional” pooper-scooper to come clean up after their dogs. You may want to offer your dog-walking services for people who can’t let their animals out during the middle of the day. You can also give pet sitting a try for people who go away on business for the weekend or on a vacation.

Paper delivery

This may have been a job you had when you were a kid, but there are always ads for these positions in the paper. This is a good way for you to get some exercise as you can complete your route through riding a bike or rollerblading. However, you need to be able to wake up pretty early in the morning if you are delivering a large daily paper!

Of course there are tons of other possibilities out there for you if you are looking to make a little bit of extra money on the side. Regardless of what skills you are advertising for hire, remember to use the resources around you to put yourself out there and to get hired. Even if you’re not making a huge amount of money, take what you learn from these jobs with you the next time you are looking for work. You never know what skills and connections this experience can give you!

Why you should start saving for retirement in your 20s

"Why you should start saving for retirement in your 20s", August 17 2009

There have been countless reports which state that the Baby Boomers will need to work longer in order to save enough money to retire. Although retirement is supposed to start at 55, many people now work into their mid-60s or later out of necessity.

University students typically graduate at 21 or 22 and start pursuing their first real job. I will be graduating (for the second time) at 25, which is due to being part of the double cohort in Ontario and also choosing to complete a second degree. In terms of planning for my future, I’m a bit nervous about the fact that I will be reaching retirement age in 30 years and I have no definitive direction, nor do I have a stable, full-time job which allows me to save for retirement.

The truth is we don’t need to start with a ton of money to build a nest egg. Although the more you can save the better it ends up for you in the long run, you do not need to start out with a large lump sum.

If saving is tough for you, start small. Start putting aside 1% of your gross pay (what you earn “on paper” before deductions). Once you get used to the amount, move up to 2%, and once you’re comfortable with that move up to 3% and so on.

If you’re already working in an entry-level position with retirement benefits, you should find what the company’s retirement plan, also known as a Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), is all about. RRSPs allow you to save for your retirement while simultaneously deferring the income tax on earnings and savings until the money is withdrawn.

Up to 18% of your wages (to a maximum of $22,000) can be put into the company’s RRSP in a given year. They are designed to allow a flexible retirement date up until December 31 of the year you turn 71. From there, the RRSP’s must be converted into an annuity or a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), and you must start withdrawing money.

Of course, not all companies have a Group RRSP, so you should be saving on your own. If you start saving early, you have the power of interest on your side (as opposed to it being against you when you need to repay student loans or credit card debt). The money you put aside will grow because of this interest, so you should always have some put aside in either a high-interest savings account or one made specifically for retirement.

If you’re more interested in market-related investments, set up an informal meeting with a financial advisor at your bank to get some more information and advice.

Regardless of the ways and amount you choose to invest, the most important thing you should be doing at this point in your life is starting to save. Every little bit counts for the future.

Entry-level living: Repurpose old furniture to save money and trees

"Entry-level living: Repurpose old furniture to save money and trees", June 4 2009.

Although I have always had an affinity for puzzles, IKEA furniture is quite possibly the worst kind of puzzle in existence. Assembling, disassembling and reassembling IKEA furniture has always pissed me off.

If you really think about it, many of the items in the IKEA catalogue are not worth the amount we pay for them: some chipboard and screws that you assemble into a desk yourself should not cost $200 or more. Similarly, buying a vase or candle holders from a specialty or department store will cost anywhere from $10-$150 per item when decorating your home, and that really starts to add up.

Many pay those amounts because they believe their options are limited. Not true! You can buy very inexpensive and often better-constructed furniture for much less. All you need to do is think outside the box: by utilizing antique markets, re-sale stores, flea markets and garage sales in addition to some paint you can have some unique furniture and accessories for a little bit of cash.

When I was furnishing my student house, my parents gave me an ultimatum: they would buy me whatever furniture I liked, and I could paint it any colour I chose, as long as it was from the re-use store in my community. To buy paint, two dressers, two night tables, a footboard, a headboard and a bed frame cost them less than $150. Doing a quick search on the IKEA website, we would have spent approximately $430 for the same items.

I used wall paint on my furniture and, although it looks okay, there were a few areas where you could see the paint had dripped. I have read that spray paint is much easier to use because it doesn’t drip like other kinds of paint. However, it is hard to use when covering large items.

Financially, buying used makes sense because items cost a fraction of the price they would if they were new. Although there can be a stigma of buying something used, people should be more willing to do so, especially if it is the deciding factor between having enough money for food or rent.

Remember, you don’t have to keep these items for the rest of your life. My rather eccentric furniture is not something I plan to keep as part of my bedroom set. However, safer colours like white and black, especially for accent items, will never go out of style. If you choose to use these colours in your decorating scheme, you can focus on unusual shapes for the items you buy, and they can continue into your later life.

Keeping more cash in your wallet is a huge incentive for buying used furniture, but you should also consider the environmental impact repurposed items have. They help eliminate the destruction of non-renewable resources to make furniture. Furthermore, many associations take the proceeds from the purchases and put them back into social organizations within the community.

Regardless of how long you plan to keep this furniture, and whether or not you are buying used items to save money or help reduce your environmental footprint, it is a very sound economical option that more students, recent graduates and new professionals should consider.